Egypt's Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, met on Wednesday with Switzerland's Ambassador to Cairo, Andreas Baum, to discuss broadening bilateral cooperation in the healthcare sector, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. The meeting highlighted the "longstanding and deep-rooted" relations between the two countries and the shared commitment to strengthening public health partnerships. Discussions reviewed progress on ongoing joint initiatives, including the medical waste management project and the National Blood Transfusion Services project, which Switzerland has praised as a "sustainable and comprehensive model" recognised with international quality certifications. The talks also addressed cooperation in managing health emergencies and communicable diseases. Both sides explored ways to enhance expertise exchange in hospital management and primary healthcare, expand professional and nursing training programmes, and pursue opportunities in pharmaceutical production, quality control, vaccine manufacturing, and joint development of medical products. During the meeting, Ambassador Baum extended an official invitation to Abdel Ghaffar to attend the Swiss–Egyptian Economic Forum on 26 January 2026 in Cairo. The forum is expected to strengthen economic and investment collaboration, particularly in health innovation and technology transfer. Baum underscored that the Egyptian Ministry of Health is "one of Switzerland's key partners in Egypt," noting that over 80% of Swiss exports to Egypt comprise chemical and pharmaceutical products. He highlighted the role of Swiss development cooperation and private-sector engagement in supporting Egypt's Vision 2030. He also noted that bilateral cooperation has been further reinforced through the launch of the Joint Economic Committee, which held its inaugural meeting in Switzerland in May 2025. Ambassador Baum invited Abdel Ghaffar to serve as a keynote speaker during the forum's health session, an invitation the minister accepted.
